SOUND TIGERS 3, PENGUINS 2

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers scored three goals in the first period, leading to their sixth straight win as they held on 3-2 on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Jared Gomes, Alan Quine and Justin Vaive all scored for the Sound Tigers, while Ben Holmstrom notched a pair of assists. Christopher Gibson stopped 30 shots, including several key ones late, to earn his second win in as many nights.

Bridgeport dominated the first period, playing one of its best 20-minute stretches of the season. Gomes started off the scoring, coming down the left wing and firing a snap shot over the blocker of Tristan Jarry. Assists on the play went to Justin Florek and Holmstrom, both of whom had points in last night’s contest.

Next it was Quine, scoring his ninth of the season on the power play. Quine took a pass from Ryan Pulock and one-timed a shot over Jarry’s shoulder to make it 2-0 Sound Tigers. Quine’s first power play goal of the season gave him a six-game point streak, recording a point in every game since returning from injury.

Bridgeport wasn’t done there, finishing off the scoring in the opening period with 2:15 left in the frame. Holmstrom had the puck behind the Penguins net and gave it to Vaive along the far side boards. Vaive just fired a shot towards the net and beat Jarry on the far side to give the Sound Tigers a 3-0 lead.

The Penguins scored the only goal of the second period, showing signs of life late in the middle frame. After Gomes broke his stick on a defensive zone draw, Carter Rowney walked right by him and fired a shot past Gibson to get the Penguins on the board. Will O’Neill and Steve Oleksy got the assists on Rowney’s marker with 1:15 left in the second.

Rowney notched his second of the game with 13 minutes remaining in regulation time. After getting a pass from Anton Zlobin, Rowney faked out Gibson before firing the puck short side for his second of the game. O’Neill also got his second assist of the game to make it 3-2.

Down the stretch, it was all Penguins, but Gibson held the fort. Midway through the period, he had to make a couple of huge saves, including one on Rowney in tight bidding for the hat trick, to keep the Sound Tigers in front.

With just 1:45 remaining, Gomes was sent to the penalty box for a slash and the Sound Tigers were down two men with the goaltender pulled. The Penguins threw everything they could at Gibson, but he somehow kept the puck out of the net, securing the win for the Sound Tigers.

Bridgeport went 1-for-6 on the power play while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 3-for-3. The Penguins ended up outshooting Bridgeport 32-27.

The Sound Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Hershey for a makeup game against the Bears. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.